Panasonic HPS14042K Lumix G X Vario PZ 14-42mm/F3.5-5.6 Aspherical/Power Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Lens (Black)

After reading ALL reviews I could find I was reluctant to try it. I have the original 14-42mm that came with my GX1. While it takes decent pictures it is not an easy lens to use. Sticky to adjust from one position to another. Not a small lens. I purchased the GX1 primarily for travel and like the small size and weight compared to my DSLR system. Took a chance and ordered the PZ; very, very happy that I did. Maybe I got a good copy but I have not experienced any of the problems associated with this lens. Great travel lens. Great walk around lens. Sharp with good resolution. I have the 20mm 1.7 and while this lens is not quite as sharp it is close and since it is a zoom it is more versatile. A pleasure to use; I highly recommend it. Update - I spent an afternoon taking photos in various conditions along with my original 14-42 kit that came with the GX1. I found that in most all situations the quality of both was very similar. I am keeping both, why? I think the bigger kit lens lends itself better for taking serious landscape photos; is easier to use with filters such as ND, Grad ND, Circular Polarizing filter etc. Handles better on a tripod. The PZ is a far better lens for candid photos, street photography and a general walk around lens. Fun to use. I found that while they are both f3.5-5.6 the bigger kit lens is a little faster. It does not go to f5.6 as soon as the PZ lens does. Now, a number of reviewers say that it is not as good as the Olympus lens. This is contrary to sites like Photozone that rate the Lumix higher in their testing as do all other test sites. Lumix rates quite a bit better. I continue to recommend the PZ 14-42. Has to be better with the Lumix/Panasonic line cameras. I might add that I also own, and use the Lumix LX7. A camera that I strongly recommend. LX has a far smaller sensor and lens is fixed. Can not put on a longer lens for wildlife etc. Most every time I leave my home, I bring a camera with me. Most of the time it is the LX7. Smaller, lighter and a joy to use. But if I'm heading out for a shoot, I take the M43 or DSLR. Example; next week I'll be on a cruise to Hawaii. Need to travel light. Will bring Lumix GX1, PZ 14-42, PZ 45-175 and 20 f1.7. ALSO the LX7 as a back-up.

Maybe I am one of the lucky ones. This lens is working perfectly and I like it a lot. None of the bugs or complaints described in other reviews have materialized after a month of using the Vario PZ 14-42 lens mounted on my Panasonic Lumix GR-6 camera. I really appreciate the smaller size after lugging my GR-6 around with the standard kit lens on it. The Vario PZ reduces the size and weight noticeably. I had some surprises using this lens. Once in place it activates the digital zoom feature on the camera and all of the camera features available with the kit lens remain, albeit some are accessed a little differently on the touch screen monitor. The function lever can be set to become the power zoom control while the lever's previous exposure compensation function is accessible on the monitor screen. There is a manual zoom right on the lens itself if one prefers to make the adjustment that way. Actually, my Lumix GR-6 can set the function lever to AUTO so the zoom can be adjusted on both the lens and on the function lever. The lens accepts a 37mm filter and that means the larger filters designed for the Lumix kit lens won't fit. That is not a big problem for me since the only filter I use is a standard UV type for lens protection. Those are cheap and easily found in a variety of sizes. This Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 14-42mm lens is actually the H-PS14042 lens as described in the Lumix GF6 instruction manual. I was not absolutely certain of that until the lens arrived and I put it on my camera. It is a micro 4/3 lens that will probably fit a variety of cameras. I thought the price on this power zoom lens was about right and a good investment for expanding the potential of my camera. The lens is probably best suited for travel photography, family photos and candid shooting. The pictures I have taken with this lens are sharp,accurately colored and show no edge anomalies. It is well made and looks great on my camera. As an advanced amateur photographer with an interest in taking pictures without fighting my camera, I can recommend this lens enthusiastically.

This is a great lens, if you are looking for a really compact standard M43 zoom, don't hesitate to pick one of these up! There have been lots of bad reviews about this lens. It seems that when it was first released (ca. late 2011), there were some quality problems, especially with the firmware. So the lens seems to have gotten a bad rap. But there have been at least some good reviews as well. I was looking for a more compact walk-around standard zoom, and this seemed like an interesting option, so I picked up a cheap one that had been de-kitted from a package deal GX1. I can't be more pleased! I've already got the Olympus 14:42 IIR lens -- which has mediocre image quality and isn't really all that small. I'd upgraded from that to the Panasonic 14-45 (better image quality, but fairly bulky). I have done quite a few test shots over the past week in different subjects, focal lengths, exposure, etc. and I am safely convinced that the GX 14-42 is the optical equal of the 14-45. I tested at focal lengths 14/20/25/35/42, and apertures 5.6/6.7/8.0. In about 75% of the cases, I judged the X14-42 as equal to the 14-45. In almost all the remaining cases, the X14-42 actually looked better. At both "whole image" and pixel peeping levels. (Caveat -- all shot on an Olympus EP3, with the older 12 MP sensor, so perhaps there is a bigger difference between the 14-42 and 14-45 with a higher-resolution sensor). Build quality is good. Size of the lens when collapsed is same as the Panasonic 20mm pancake, so the whole camera + lens now easily fits into a coat pocket. Now, this is still a kit zoom, with a minimum aperture of F3.5 on the wide side and F5.6 on the telephoto side. So don't think it's going to replace your favorite primes for "when it counts." But, as a standard walk-around zoom, this one has earned a place in my bag, and the previous favorite 14-45 is going into the closet. Given the initial quality control issues, make sure you get a new one or freshly de-kitted one from a reputable seller, don't take a chance on provenance of a used one.

Pros: The lens is compact which makes the camera more portable. I use it on the Olympus E-P3, or E-PM2. It is quite sharp also, giving good pictures with adequate contrast. Affordable. Cons: I read the reviews on this lens about occasional double image problems at certain shutter speeds. It's true. It doesn't do it every shot which makes it hard to figure out what to do. I end up using shutter priority most of the time to keep it out of the 1/100--1/360 shutter speed where the problem seems to happen, trusting the auto ISO feature of the camera. It doesn't double image every shot in this shutter speed range which makes it hard to figure out what to do. Ergonomically it's OK but the manual focus rocker switch is a little hard to stop at just the right focus spot. Of course the lens is slow but that is what you get in this price range for a zoom lens. Being an Olympus user with in body stabilization, I wish there was a switch to turn off the lens OIS. To my eyes, It is slightly sharper than the Oly kit 14-42.. My recommendation: Only buy this lens if you need a more compact solution than the standard kit lens and you are willing to take the gamble that you may get one that double images once in a while and are willing to live with that.

First, the double-image others reported are not due to defective lenses. It has to do with an incompatibility between the 14-42 X PZ and certain models of lightweight cameras, specifically early model Panasonic GX1's, the G3, G2 and a couple GF models. The shutter on these models are a bit too forcefull, and actually shake the floating elements used in the OIS system. Panasonic claims to have fixed the issue in later hardware revisions of the cameras, as well as a firmware update to the lens itself. To see if your model is compatible, it's best to contact Panasonic. In general, larger bodies like the G5, GH2, GH3 will not have these issues. I'm not aware of any problems with Olympus cameras, but don't quote me on that. The lens itself is a nice kit lens. It's better than the 14-42 lens including in most Panasonic camera kits, and roughly equal to the vaunted 14-45. 14-45 is a bit better on the wide end, 14-42 is better on the long end. Check the MTF charts on Panny's site to see for yourself. It's a great partner to thePanasonic LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 Aspherical Pancake Lens for Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Cameras . You can use the 20mm indoors, keeping the zoom in your pocket, and swap them out when you go outside or need either a wider or closer shot. It's really convenient and low-key 2 piece kit for only $600 (unless you got the 14-42 X in your kit). As for quality, the center of the lens is tack sharp, it's when you look at the edges and corners do you realize that this is still just a kit zoom. It's not poor, I've printed 20x16 posters that look great on the wall and wallpapers that look great on my desktop. However, pros will notice some blurring and lack of contrast in the off center. Of course, I always want a wider, bright aperture. But what do you expect? It's a pancake kit lens. For that, it's great.